Method and system for character sequence checking according to a selected language

ABSTRACT

A method and system for checking the validity of a sequence of input characters according to the syntactical rules of a selected language is provided. If an input character may not begin a valid sequence of characters, or if the input character may not be appended to a previously input sequence of characters according to the rules of the selected language, the newly input character may be prohibited from being displayed singularly or appended to the previous sequence and displayed on the user&#39;s computer. Previously input character sequences may be edited by determining the sequence validity context of previously input sequences of characters.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to the following application, which is filedon the same day as the present application and is assigned to the sameassignee as the present application:

-   -   “Method And System For Automatic Type And Replace Of Characters        In A Sequence Of Characters”—Ser. No. ______.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to validation of and correction of sequences ofinput characters according to the syntactical rules of a selectedlanguage. More particularly, this invention relates to determiningwhether a typed sequence of characters is a valid sequence according tothe character sequence and syntactical rules of the selected language.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years, use of computers has increased dramatically worldwide.Users of computers utilize computer programs for a variety of purposesincluding word processing, database management, desktop publishing, andthe like. Computer users are accustomed to using “checking” programmodules (e.g., spell checkers and grammar checkers) that alert the userto words or sequences of characters found in the document that arequestionable based on some predefined set of rules.

The written form of some languages includes sequences of complexcharacters and/or symbols. For example, South Asian languages like Thai,Vietnamese, and Hindi use combinations of various characters (alsocalled simple characters herein) such as vowels, consonants, diacritics,tone marks, and accents to form complex characters. Those languagesfollow stringent syntactical rules that dictate which simple characteris allowed next to or above or below another simple character in thecomposition of more complex characters used in the formation of words.In this context, a word can be composed of (a) one or more simplecharacters (e.g., consonant); (b) one or more complex characters (e.g.,a complex character being formed by more than one simple character likea consonant and a tone mark ); and (c) a combination of simple andcomplex characters. That is, the correct position of these simplecharacters in a complex character is necessary both syntactically andorthographically based on syntactical rules for each language. Forexample, in the Thai language, a leading Thai vowel must be followed bya consonant or a trailing vowel (also called following vowels) to form avalid Thai character. If other than a consonant or trailing vowel isinput after the input of a leading vowel, then the sequence of theleading vowel and the subsequent non-consonant or non-trailing vowelcharacter is an incorrect sequence and does not form a correct Thailanguage complex character or word. Similar character sequence andsyntactical rules apply for other languages mentioned above, such asVietnamese and Hindi. A problem arises for the person typing one ofthose languages because if the sequence of characters that should form acomplex character is invalid, the complex character will not be renderedon the screen correctly, and therefore, the complex character will bemeaningless.

Techniques to verify the validity of a sequence of input characters havebeen implemented, but those techniques are mainly oriented towardsgetting a proper display of the complex character and do not address theissue of enforcing a correct input sequence of characters according tothe syntactical rules defined by the selected language. In some priorart systems, the validity of the sequence of characters is determined bycomparing the typed sequence with a known valid displayable sequence(i.e., a sequence of characters that are valid in accordance with therules of a selected language). Some prior art techniques allow thedisplay of sequences of characters that are orthographically incorrector simply display a symbol, such as a black box, whenever the sequencewas not displayable due to errors in the sequence of input characters.Also, prior art sequence checking techniques do not allow fordetermining accurately the sequence context of a previously inputsequence of characters once the user moves the cursor to a new locationin the text.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an efficient method andsystem for checking the validity of a sequence of input charactersaccording to the syntactical rules of a selected language. There isfurther a need for a method and system for determining the sequencevalidity context of a sequence of previously typed simple characters.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention satisfies the above-described needs by providing amethod and system for checking the validity of a sequence of inputcharacters according to the syntactical rules of a selected language.Each simple character is checked to determine whether that simplecharacter may form a valid sequence of simple characters according tothe syntactical rules for the selected language to which the simplecharacters belong. If an input character may not be appended to thepreviously input sequence according to the rules of the selectedlanguage, the newly input character may be prohibited from beingappended to the sequence and displayed on the user's computer. Thepresent invention provides for editing of previously input charactersequences by determining the validity of the context of sequences ofcharacters.

Generally described, when a user types simple characters in theformation of complex characters in selected languages, such as Thai,Hindi and Vietnamese, a determination is made as to whether each newlytyped simple character may be appended to the sequence of charactersalready typed by the user. If appending the new character to thesequence violates the syntactical rules of the selected language, thenew character is prohibited from being appended to the sequence or frombeing displayed. If the user moves the cursor from one location toanother in a document, a reconstruction of the sequence context isaccomplished so that a determination can be made as to the validity ofthe next input character or any newly typed character.

More particularly described, one aspect of the present inventionprovides a method of checking a sequence of input characters accordingto rules of a selected language. The method includes the steps ofreceiving a first character, and determining whether the first charactermay begin a valid sequence of characters according to rules associatedwith the selected language. If the first character may begin a validsequence of characters according to rules associated with the selectedlanguage, accepting the first character for display. If the firstcharacter may not begin a valid sequence of characters according torules associated with the selected language, prohibiting accepting thefirst character for display.

If a second character is received, a determination is made as to whetherthe second character may be appended to the first character according torules associated with the selected language. If the second character maybe appended to the first character according to the rules associatedwith the selected language, then the second character is appended to thefirst character. If the second character may not be appended to thefirst character according to the rules associated with the selectedlanguage, then addition of the second character to the first characteris prohibited.

The step of determining whether the second character may be appended tothe first character according to rules associated with the selectedlanguage includes utilizing a state transition table and assigning afirst state to the first character according to the rules associatedwith the selected language. A second state is assigned to the secondcharacter according to the rules associated with the selected language.A determination is made as to whether the state transition tableincludes a state transition from the first state to the second state. Ifthe state transition table includes a state transition from the firststate to the second state, determining the second character may beappended to the first character according to the rules associated withthe selected language. If the state transition table does not include astate transition from the first state to the second state, determiningthe second character may not be appended to the first characteraccording to the rules associated with the selected language.

If appending the second character to the first character creates acomplete sequence of characters according to the rules associated withthe selected language, determining whether a third input character maybegin a second valid sequence of characters according to rulesassociated with the selected language. If the third character may begina second valid sequence of characters according to rules associated withthe selected language, accepting the third character for display. If thethird character may not begin a second valid sequence of charactersaccording to rules associated with the selected language, prohibitingaccepting the third character for display.

In another aspect of the present invention, a system is provided forchecking a sequence of input characters according to rules of a selectedlanguage. The system includes a computer program module operative toreceive a first character and to determine whether the first charactermay be the first character of a sequence of characters according to therules associated with the selected language. The program module is alsooperative to receive a second character, to determine whether the secondcharacter may be appended sequentially to the first character accordingto rules associated with the selected language, and to append the secondcharacter sequentially to the first character if the second charactermay be appended to the first character according to the rules associatedwith the selected language. Additionally, the program module isoperative to prohibit appending the second character to the firstcharacter if the second character may not be appended to the firstcharacter according to the rules associated with the selected language.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided forestablishing the sequence validation context of a sequence ofcharacters. The method includes determining the maximum number ofcharacters that may comprise a valid sequence of characters according tothe rules of a selected language. Beginning with the last simplecharacter of a sequence of characters, a determination is made as towhether the last character is valid as a complete sequence of characterscomprising a complex character. If the last character of the sequence ofcharacters is valid as a complete sequence of characters comprising acomplex character, then the context of the input character is returnedas a context for a complex character. If the input character of asequence of characters is not valid as a complete sequence of characterscomprising a complex character, then a determination is made as towhether a combination of the last character and the character inputimmediately to the left of the last character is valid as a completesequence of characters comprising a complex character. If thecombination of the last character and the character input immediately tothe left of the last character is valid as a complete sequence ofcharacters comprising a complex character, then a context for thecombination is returned as the context for a complex character.

If the combination is not valid as a complete sequence of characterscomprising the complex character, then a determination is made as towhether the combination combined with the next character to the left ofthe combination is valid as a complete sequence of characters comprisinga complex character. If not, subsequent combinations of characters arecreated by adding one at a time additional characters input to the leftof the last subsequent combination until the maximum number ofcharacters that may comprise a valid sequence have been combined to forma sequence of characters that may be checked for validity as a completesequence of characters comprising a complex character. If any of thesubsequent combination of characters are valid as a complete sequence ofcharacters comprising a complex character according to the rules of theselected language, then a context for that combination is returned asthe context for a complex character.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent upon reading the following specification, when taken inconjunction with the drawings and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a personal computer that provides anexemplary operating environment for an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the interaction between exemplaryprogram modules of an embodiment of the present invention with anexemplary computer application program.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative computer program screen shot according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a state transition table illustrating allowable sequences ofsimple characters in the Thai language and includes allowable characterreplacement sequences.

FIG. 4A is a state transition diagram illustrating allowable sequencesof simple characters in the Thai language.

FIG. 5 is a state transition table illustrating allowable sequences ofsimple characters in the Hindi language and includes allowable characterreplacement sequences.

FIG. 5A is a state transition diagram illustrating allowable sequencesof simple characters in the Hindi language.

FIG. 6 is a state transition table illustrating allowable sequences ofsimple characters in the Vietnamese language and includes allowablecharacter replacement sequences.

FIG. 6A is a state transition diagram and chart illustrating allowablesequences of simple characters in the Vietnamese language.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating the preferred steps for charactersequence checking and type and replace for a newly input character.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating the preferred steps forreconstructing the context of a previously input sequence of characters.

FIG. 9 is a table of character type and replace actions.

FIG. 9A is a table of character type and replace actions for the Thailanguage only.

FIG. 10 is a table illustrating a valid sequence of Hindi (Devanagariscript) characters input on a user's keyboard and resulting complexcharacter output.

FIG. 11 is a table illustrating an invalid sequence of Hindi (Devanagariscript) characters input on a user's keyboard and resulting complexcharacter output where the last input character is invalid and notdisplayed.

FIG. 12 is a table illustrating replacement of a previously validatedcharacter input by a subsequent character input to form a invalidsequence of Hindi (Devanagari script) characters input on a user'skeyboard and resulting complex character output.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is directed to checking whether a simple characterinitially may be input or may be appended to a previously input simplecharacter or sequence of simple characters to form a sequence of simplecharacters that is valid according to the syntactical rules of thelanguage to which the characters belong. As should be understood, thefunctionality of the present invention may be utilized with a variety ofcomputer software application programs with which text is entered,including word processors, database programs, graphics programs, etc.

As discussed above, many languages including, for example, South Asianlanguages like Thai, Vietnamese, and Hindi use combinations of varioussimple characters such as vowels, consonants, diacritics, tone marks,and accents to form complex characters. Those languages follow stringentsyntactical rules that dictate which simple character is allowed next toor above or below another simple character in the composition of morecomplex characters and also words. For the sake of simplicity, for theremainder of this document, the syntactical rules for a given languagewhich are followed to determine the validity of a single character orsequence of characters will be referred to as “rules.” It should beunderstood that the rules utilized by the embodiments of the presentinvention may include any set of syntactical rules required by anylanguage for representing sounds or words by single characters orsequences (including horizontal or vertical) of characters or symbols.Reference to specific languages and specific rules therefor is notintended to limit the scope of this document and the appended claims.

If a user edits characters that were previously input, the sequencevalidity context of a previously input sequence of simple characters mayneed to be rebuilt. Once the user places the cursor at a particularlocation, the functionality of the present invention looks backward aset number of characters to validate the past sequence of characters.Accordingly, the functionality then applies sequence checking to thenext character input by the user based on the last character in thevalidated sequence. That is, by placing the cursor of the user's inputprogram application (e.g., word processor) to the right of a previouslyinput sequence of characters, the validity of that sequence is checkedin order to allow the user to type another character which will bechecked to determine whether it may be appended to the previous sequencein accordance with the rules of the selected language.

In another embodiment of the present invention, functionality isprovided which attempts to replace or combine an existing simplecharacter in a previously validated sequence with the new characterbeing input by the user. This character type and replace functionalityis referred to herein as character replacement for the sake ofsimplicity. For example, say the user has previously typed four correctsimple characters in the process of typing a complex character comprisedof six characters. Then, say the user types a fifth simple characterwhich is incorrect. That is, the fifth character cannot combine with theprevious four characters without violating the character sequence andsyntactical rules of the selected language. The type and replacefunctionality of the present invention will try to replace and/orcombine an existing simple character in the previously validatedsequence (i.e., one of the previously four typed characters) to allowthe user to successfully type the fifth character. That is, if the fifthcharacter can not be used to combine with the existing sequence ofcharacters to create a new complex character, the new character isdiscarded and is not displayed, and the existing complex characterremains unaffected.

If the type and replace functionality succeeds, the new validatedsequence of characters, including the last character typed by the user,are displayed on the user's computer screen. If the type and replacefunctionality does not succeed in replacing or combining a previouscharacter with the newly typed character, the sequence is not changed,and the fifth character typed by the user is not displayed. The usermust then attempt a different character as the fifth character.Accordingly, the type and replace functionality allows the user toautomatically replace parts of an existing complex character or alreadyvalidated sequence of simple characters without having to move theediting cursor within the complex character.

Exemplary Operating Environment

The processes and operations performed by the computer include themanipulation of signals by a processor or remote server and themaintenance of these signals within data structures resident in one ormore of the local or remote memory storage devices. Such data structuresimpose a physical organization upon the collection of data stored withina memory storage device and represent specific electrical or magneticelements. These symbolic representations are the means used by thoseskilled in the art of computer programming and computer construction tomost effectively convey teachings and discoveries to others skilled inthe art.

For the purposes of this discussion, a process is generally conceived tobe a sequence of computer-executed steps leading to a desired result.These steps generally require physical manipulations of physicalquantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take theform of electrical, magnetic, or optical signals capable of beingstored, transferred, combined, compared, or otherwise manipulated. It isconventional for those skilled in the art to refer to these signals asbits, bytes, words, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms,numbers, points, records, objects, images, files or the like. It shouldbe kept in mind, however, that these and similar terms should beassociated with appropriate physical quantities for computer operations,and that these terms are merely conventional labels applied to physicalquantities that exist within and during operation of the computer.

It should also be understood that manipulations within the computer areoften referred to in terms such as adding, calling, comparing,receiving, sending, reading, transferring, determining, routing,selecting, transmitting, etc. which are often associated with manualoperations performed by a human operator. The operations describedherein are machine operations performed in conjunction with variousinput provided by a human operator or user that interacts with thecomputer.

Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals represent likeelements throughout the several figures, aspects of the presentinvention and the preferred operating environment will be described.FIG. 1 and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief,general description of the suitable computing environment in which theinvention may be implemented. While the invention will be described inthe general context of an application program that runs on an operatingsystem in conjunction with a personal computer, those skilled in the artwill recognize that the invention may also be implemented in combinationwith other program modules. Generally, program modules include routines,programs, components, data structures (such as tables or treestructures), etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the invention may be practiced with other computer systemconfigurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The invention may alsobe practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunication network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary system for implementing thepresent invention includes a conventional personal computer 20,including a processor 21, a system memory 22, and a system bus 23 thatcouples the system memory 22 to the processor 21. The system memory 22includes read only memory (ROM) 24 and random access memory (RAM) 25. Abasic input/output system 26 (BIOS) is stored in ROM 24. The BIOS 26essentially contains the basic routines that help to transferinformation between elements within the personal computer 20 duringcertain computer operations, such as during start-up. The personalcomputer 20 further includes a hard disk drive 27, a magnetic disk drive28 (e.g., that reads from and writes to a removable disk 29), and anoptical disk drive 30 (e.g., that reads from an optical disk 31 or readsfrom or writes to other optical media). The hard disk drive 27, magneticdisk drive 28, and optical disk drive 30 are connected to the system bus23 by a hard disk drive interface 32, a magnetic disk drive interface33, and an optical drive interface 34, respectively.

The drives and their associated computer-readable media providenon-volatile storage for the personal computer 20. Although thedescription of computer-readable media above includes the hard diskdrive 27, a removable magnetic disk 29 and a removable optical disk 31,such as a CD-ROM disk or DVD, it should be appreciated by those skilledin the art that other types of removable media which are readable by acomputer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital tapes,Bernoulli cartridges, and the like, may also be used in the exemplaryoperating environment.

A number of program modules may be stored in the drives and RAM 25,including an operating system 35, one or more program modules 36 (suchas a word processing program module), other program modules 37. Theoperating system 35, in conjunction with the BIOS 26 and associateddevice drivers, provides the basic interface between the computer'shardware and software resources, the user, and program modules. A usermay enter commands and information into the personal computer 20 througha keyboard 40 and an input or pointing device, such as a mouse 42.

Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, a key pad, atouch sensor, a joystick, a game pad, a satellite dish, a scanner, orthe like. The keyboard 40, mouse 42, and other input devices are oftenconnected to the processor 21 through a serial port interface 46, suchas a game port or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor 47 or othertype of display device is also connected to the system bus 23 via aninterface, such as a video adapter 48. In addition to the monitor 47,personal computers typically include other peripheral output devices(not shown), such as speakers and printers.

The personal computer 20 may operate in a networked environment usinglogical connections to one or more remote programmable devices, such asa remote computer 49. The remote computer 49 may be a server, a router,a peer device, or other common network node. Typically, the remotecomputer 49 includes many or all of the elements described relative tothe personal computer 20, although only a memory storage device 50 hasbeen illustrated in FIG. 1. The logical connections depicted in FIG. 1include a local area network (LAN) 51 and a wide area network (WAN) 52.Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-widecomputer networks, intranets and the global Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the personal computer 20 isconnected to the local network 51 through a network interface 53. Whenused in a WAN networking environment, the personal computer 20 typicallyincludes a modem 54 or other means for establishing communications overthe wide area network 52, such as the global Internet. The modem 54,which may be internal or external, is connected to the system bus viathe serial port interface 46. In a networked environment, programmodules depicted relative to the personal computer 20, or portionsthereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device 50. It willbe appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary andother means of establishing a communications link between the personalcomputer 20 and the remote computer 49 may be used.

Implementation of Exemplary Embodiments of the Present Invention

The present invention may be implemented as an independent charactersequence checking and character replacement program or as a component orfeature that is employed in conjunction with a separate computer programsuch as a word processing program capable of handling languages usingcomplex characters. In an exemplary embodiment, the character sequencechecking and character replacement program is embodied as a component ina dynamic-link library (DLL) that is used in conjunction with the“MICROSOFT WORD” word processing application program, which is publishedby the Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. It should be understoodthat the character sequence checking and character replacementfunctionality of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may beused in conjunction with any computer program application that allowsfor typing or inputting language text. For example, the charactersequence checking and character replacement functionality also may beused in conjunction with “MICROSOFT EXCEL,” MICROSOFT POWERPOINT,”“MICROSOFT OUTLOOK,” MICROSOFT ACCESS,” AND “MICROSOFT OFFICE” products,all published by the Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the interaction between anexemplary program module of an embodiment of the present invention withan exemplary computer application program, such as a word processingapplication program. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the sequence checking andcharacter replacement program module 210 may be called by the computerapplication program (e.g., word processing program) 205 for use ofsequence checking and character replacement functionality. In anexemplary embodiment, the sequence checking and character replacementprogram module 210 may include a sequence checking feature 215 and acharacter type and replace feature 220. A sequence contextreconstruction feature 225 is illustrated that may be utilized by thesequence checking feature 215 during text editing actions.

In an exemplary embodiment, it may be useful for any application program205 that needs to use the functionality of the sequence checking andcharacter replacement program module 210 to provide an operation systemwide registry entry for the sequence checking and character replacementprogram module 210. This entry would point to the sequence checking andcharacter replacement program module 210 for each language that requiressequence checking. Alternatively individual applications, such asapplication program 205 may register the sequence checking and characterreplacement program module 210 as a shared feature. Alternatively, thesequence checking and character replacement program module 210 may beembodied directly in the word processing application program 205.

Before describing the particular implementation of the presentinvention, it is advantageous at this point to describe a set ofexemplary user interfaces encountered by a user of a given computerapplication program employing an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative computer program screen shotaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shownin FIG. 3, sequence checking options are exposed to the user foroptional use. The sequence checking feature 215 and the character typeand replace feature 220 are optional to the user and may be selected asdesired by clicking on the box to the left of the options. If desired,these features could be set to operate by default rather than by option.Alternatively, these features may be exposed in the user's computeroperating system registry only without a need for such option in thisdialog. In this case, there should be a registry entry setting for eachlanguage that requires these features.

Referring still to FIG. 3, “Use Sequence checking” button 310 turnson/off the sequence checking feature 215. When this feature is turnedoff the user can type any character (tone, diacritic, vowel, andconsonant, etc.) in any order and combination without intervention,unless some other type of grammar or spelling checking feature isseparately employed. If the sequence checking feature 215 is turned off,other editing features like delete, backspace and cursor movements willbehave just as they do in normal character input and editing operationssuch as with word processing using English text.

Selection of the “Type and Replace” button 320, turns on/off thecharacter type and replace feature 220. In an exemplary embodiment, whenthe “Use Sequence Checking” 310 is turned off, the option “Type andReplace” 320 is not selectable and is grayed out. It only is selectablewhen “Use Sequence Checking” 310 is turned on.

In implementation of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention,the sequence checking feature 215 assists the user in entering adisplayable sequence of characters according to the rules of theselected language by validating and memorizing each character entered bythe user. If the character entered does not belong to any of the definedrules, it is not combined with the validated sequence of characters andit is not displayed. If the character is valid, then it is combined withthe validated sequence and the new combination is displayed. FIG. 10illustrates a valid sequence of simple Hindi characters input on thekeyboard of a user's computer and the resulting output. The beginning ofthe sequence starts on the top line in the keyboard input column andends with the character in the last line. In the example illustrated inFIG. 10, each new simple character input by the user correctly may beappended to the previous sequence of simple characters. FIG. 11illustrates an invalid sequence of simple Hindi characters. Asillustrated in FIG. 11, the last character input by the user may not beappended to the sequence of simple characters previously input, and sothe last character is not displayed in the output.

It should be understood that the sequence checking feature 215 operatesseparately from a spelling checker program for the selected language.That is, the sequence checking feature 215 assists the user in theformation of complex characters from simple characters. The user maystill misspell a word in the selected language by incorrectly stringingtogether complex characters which are individually valid in terms of thesequence of simple characters comprising each complex character.Similarly, the sequence checking feature 215 operates separately from agrammar checker program for the selected language. That is, the user maystring together complex characters or words that are individually validin terms of the sequence of simple characters comprising each complexcharacter or word, but that violate the grammatical rules of theselected language.

For example, say the user is attempting to type the word “computer” inthe Thai language, and for the sake of example only, say the Thailanguage requires a separate complex character that is the equivalent toeach letter making up the English language spelling of the word“computer.” According to this example, the user would type a series ofsimple characters to form a Thai complex character that is theequivalent of the letter “c.” The user would then type a series ofcomplex characters to form a Thai complex character that is theequivalent of the letter “o.”

The functionality of the present invention will determine that thesequences of simple characters typed by the user to form the complexcharacters representing the “c” and the “o” are valid sequences. If theuser had typed a sequence of simple characters to form the Thaiequivalent of the letter “u” instead of the letter “o,” (that is, theuser is incorrectly spelling the word “computer” with a “u” instead ofan “o”) the functionality of the present invention would only insure thevalidity of the sequence of characters typed by the user for formationof the complex character representing the letter “u.” Whether the word“computer” is spelled correctly will be determined by the user'sspelling checker. Likewise, whether the word “computer” and a subsequentword typed by the user may be placed in sequence in accordance with thegrammatical rules of the selected language will be determined by theuser's grammar checker. The functionality of the present invention willonly assist the user in correctly typing sequences of characters in theformation of individual complex characters and not words.

The sequence checking feature 215 of the present invention isimplemented as a state transition machine, which is based on a table oftransitions. Prior to typing text into a word processing document, forexample, a specific language, such as Thai language, is selected by theuser. This language will specify to the sequence checking feature 215which table of transition to use. The state transition table implementedby the sequence checking feature 215 will provide the sequence checkingfeature 215 with allowable transitions from character to character basedon the rules for the selected language.

FIG. 4 is a state transition table illustrating allowable sequences ofsimple characters in the Thai language and includes allowable characterreplacement sequences. FIG. 4A is a state transition diagramillustrating allowable sequences of simple characters in the Thailanguage. FIG. 4A illustrates in flow diagram form the possibletransitions illustrated in table form in FIG. 4. FIG. 5 is a statetransition table illustrating allowable sequences of simple charactersin the Hindi language and includes allowable character replacementsequences. FIG. 5A is a state transition diagram illustrating allowablesequences of simple characters in the Hindi language. FIG. 5Aillustrates in flow diagram form the possible transitions illustrated intable form in FIG. 5. FIG. 6 illustrates a state transition tableillustrating allowable sequences of simple characters in the Vietnameselanguage and includes allowable character replacement sequences. FIG. 6Aillustrates a state transition diagram illustrating allowable sequencesof simple characters in the Vietnamese language. The state transitiondiagram of FIG. 6A illustrates in flow diagram form the possibletransitions illustrated in table form in the state transition tableillustrated in FIG. 6.

The tables and diagrams illustrated in FIGS. 4-6A are based on thesyntactical rules of the selected languages and are presented forillustrative purposes only. The syntactical rules for each representedlanguage, including placement of simple characters relative to eachother in formation of complex characters is well known to those skilledin the mechanics of those languages. Also, it should be well understoodthat the present invention is not limited to the illustrative languagesused in this description, but is applicable to the formation of anyrules-dictated sequence of characters of any language.

Referring to FIG. 4, the user types a specific character, such as aleading vowel (LV1-LV4) in the Thai language, the sequence checkingfeature 215 of the present invention starts from an initial state ofzero, and identifies the class or category of that character (in thiscase, a leading vowel). That class specifies the column in the statetransition table or the starting point in the state transition flowdiagram to look into. The sequence checking feature 215 then finds thetransition state number and the predefined series of state transitionactions to apply to the existing sequence of characters (in this case, asequence of one character—the leading vowel).

The transition state numbers indicate the next state to start frombefore treating the next input character. If the next state is zero,then the sequence checking feature 215 has reached a valid and completesequence. If the next input character does not transition to any otherstate number then the character is not valid and is not combined with orappended to the existing sequence. Once a determination is made that thetyped character is not valid, the sequence checking feature 215 preventsthe input of the typed simple character, and the user is forced to typean alternate simple character.

For example, referring still to FIG. 4, starting with the input of aleading vowel (LV1), the state transition table allows two possibletransition states, namely states 40 and 9. That is, after the user typesin a next character after the leading vowel, that next character islocated in the row at the top of the table. Then, the column under thenewly-typed character is followed to find possible transition states.Cells that are shaded gray contain transitions for use by the charactertype and replace feature 220 and are discussed below. If the type andreplace feature 220 is turned off, the cells shaded in gray are notused. A blank cell in the state transition table indicates that thenewly input character may not be used according to the rules of theselected language. The additional information contained in each fieldalso is described below.

Referring now down the “state” column, it is seen that state 40represents a character sequence context of LV1LV1 which means that ifthe user types another leading vowel after the initial leading vowel(i.e., a trailing vowel since it will follow the first leading vowel),the second vowel will be allowable under the rules for the Thailanguage. State 9 shows that the addition of a consonant (C) is anallowable next character.

However, if for example, the user types a tone mark (T) after typing thefirst leading vowel, that simple character will not be displayed becausea leading vowel followed by a tone mark is not allowed and is not one ofthe transition states pointed to in the state transition table after theinput of the leading vowel. Referring to FIG. 4A and keeping with thepresent example, starting with any leading vowel (LV1-LV4) it is seenthat the only allowable flow is to another vowel or a consonant.

It should be understood that for some languages, only a certain set ofsimple characters may be typed first. That is, if other than anallowable first character is typed, the character will not be displayed.Referring to FIGS. 4 and 4A, for the Thai language, it is seen that theonly characters that may be typed first include non-composible (NON)Thai characters, such as English language punctuation marks, controlkeys (CTRL), spaces, long tail consonants (LT), leading vowels (LV) andconsonants (C). The tables and flow diagrams illustrated in FIGS. 5, 5A,6 and 6A are used and operate in a manner like that described for thetable and flow diagram illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 4A.

The sequence checking feature 215 does not handle replacement ordeletion of existing simple characters during the input of a sequence ofsimple characters. As described above, that feature prohibits theaddition of an invalid simple character onto an otherwise valid sequenceof simple characters. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, the character type and replace feature 220complements the sequence checking feature 215.

The character type and replace feature 220 allows for the automaticreplacement of parts of the sequence of simple characters beingvalidated by the sequence checking feature 215 without having to movethe cursor back to a position at which the edit needs to take place.FIG. 12 illustrates input of simple Hindi characters acted upon by thefunctionality of the character type and replace feature 220. Asillustrated in FIG. 12, the last simple character input by the user maynot be appended to the sequence of previously input characters withoutviolating the rules of the Hindi language. Therefore, the character typeand replace feature 220 removes the first character of the sequence andinserts the new character (last character input) and inserts the newcharacter before the last character of the sequence. Operation of typeand replace actions used by the character type and replace feature 220is described in detail below.

The character type and replace feature 220 is optional and is triggeredwhen the sequence checking feature 215 invalidates an input character.As described above, the character type and replace feature 220 must beturned on by the user if it is not set on by default. Because thecharacter type and replace feature 220 is complementary to the sequencechecking feature 215, the sequence checking feature 215 must be on inorder to use the character type and replace feature 220.

When the sequence checking feature 215 invalidates an input character,the character type and replace feature 220 tries to replace and/orcombine an existing simple character in the validated sequence with thenewly input simple character according to the rules for the selectedlanguage. If the character type and replace feature 220 succeeds, thenew complex character is displayed. If not, the complex character is notchanged.

The character type and replace feature 220 is implemented as a statetransition machine similar to the implementation of the sequencechecking feature 215 described above. As with the sequence checkingfeature 215, implementation of the character type and replace feature220 is based on a table of transitions. At typing time, a specificlanguage, such as Thai language, is selected by the user. This languagewill specify to the character type and replace feature 220 which tableof transition to use. The state transition table implemented by thecharacter type and replace feature 220 provides the character type andreplace feature 220 with character replacement actions based on therules for the selected language.

Referring to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the cells in the transition tables shadedin gray represent character type and replace actions which may be takenby the type and replace feature 220 to insert a newly typed characterinto a previously validated sequence or to replace a previously acceptedsimple character with the newly typed simple character. For example,referring to FIG. 5, say the user has selected the Hindi language fortext input and has initially typed an independent vowel (Iv) followed byan accent (Ac). Next the user types a vowel sign (Vs). First, the stateof the current sequence context (IvAc) is determined by looking down the“context” column to find state 6 corresponding to context (IvAc). Next,the row containing state 6 is followed to the right to the cell underthe newly typed character (Vs) located in the “character” row at the topof the table. That cell which is shaded in gray indicates the newcharacter may not be appended to the current sequence and the cellcontains the type and replace action “8il” for use by the type andreplace feature 220 in dealing with the newly typed character.

FIG. 9 is a table of character type and replace actions. FIG. 9A is atable of character type and replace actions for the Thai language only.Referring to FIG. 9, the action “8il” is translated according to thesymbol “Char i[n],” where i=1, to direct that the new character (Vs)should be inserted into the current sequence one “1” character from theright or just to the left of the accent (Ac). The “8” in the actionindicates the state of the sequence to transition to after the type andreplace action is accomplished. Referring back to FIG. 5, and lookingdown the “state” column to state “8,” it is seen that the correspondingsequence context is (IvVsAc). It can be seen for the example sequence of(IvVsAc) that the next state for this sequence, found in the column tothe right of the “state column,” is zero (0). Accordingly, the sequenceis a complete and valid sequence. Therefore, if a new character is typedby the user that new character will begin a new sequence. The charactertype and replace functionality works only on a valid sequence ofcharacters. That is, the character type and replace functionalitymodifies a valid sequence of characters with an invalid character togenerate another valid sequence of characters.

Accordingly, while the rules of the Hindi language did not allow thevowel sign (Vs) to be appended to the sequence of the independent voweland the accent, the replace action taken by the type and replace feature220, inserted the vowel sign into the sequence in a manner consistentwith the rules of the selected language (in this case Hindi). Referringback to FIG. 9, it can be seen that other actions include, for example,“a” for append the new character, “dl” for remove the previouscharacter, “dn” for remove the nth character, “rl” for replace theprevious character with the new character, and “m” for replace the nthcharacter with the new character.

It is advantageous to describe the operation of the exemplary featuresof the present invention by way of an exemplary flow diagram. FIG. 7 isa flow diagram illustrating the preferred steps for character sequencechecking and type and replace for a newly input character. At step 700,the method begins and moves to step 710 where the transition state forsequence checking is set to an initial state of zero. At step 715 adetermination is made whether a new character has been input. If not themethod ends at step 705. If a new character has been input, the methodproceeds to step 720 and gets the new character for sequence checking inaccordance with the rules of the selected language.

At step 725, a determination is made whether the new character is amember of the set of characters comprising the selected language. If thenew character is not a character of the selected language, the methodproceeds to step 730 and the new character is appended to the sequence.The method then proceeds to step 710 where the transition state is resetto zero so that the next input character will begin a new sequence. Asdiscussed above, when a non-selected language character is input such asan English language punctuation mark or space, that character isallowed, but the selected language character will start a new sequence.

If at step 725 the newly input character does belong to the set ofcharacters comprising the selected language, the method proceeds to step735. At step 735, a determination is made whether there is a statetransition from the current state for the newly input character. Asdiscussed above, there will be a state transition from the current stateif the cell in the state transition table (FIGS. 4, 5, 6) correspondingto the new character contains an action to append the new character. Notransition from the current state exists if the cell is blank or if thecell contains only type and replace actions.

If at step 735 there is a state transition from the current state, thatis, the new character may be appended to the last character or the newcharacter may be initially input to start a sequence, then the methodfollows the “yes” branch and proceeds to step 740. At step 740, the newcharacter is accepted as the initial character or is appended to thelast character. For example, referring to FIG. 5, if the new characterinput is an independent vowel (Iv) in the Hindi language, then thetransition state in the cell corresponding to the new character includesthe action “5a” which indicates the character may be appended and thenew state of the sequence is state 5. State 5 is accordingly thestarting state for the next input character.

The method then proceeds to step 760 where the state is updated. For thepresent example, the state is updated to state 5. The method thenproceeds to step 715 to determine whether there is a new character. Ifthere is no new character, the method ends at step 705.

If at step 735, there is no state transition from the current state, asin the case of an invalid character, the method follows the “no” branchto step 745. At step 745, a determination is made whether thefunctionality of the character type and replace feature 220 is turnedon. If the character type and replace feature 220 is not turned on, themethod follows the “no” branch and proceeds to step 770 where the newlytyped character is discarded and is prohibited from display. Continuingwith the example set forth above, say the next character typed after theindependent vowel (Iv) is a dependent vowel (Dv) in the Hindi language.Referring to FIG. 5, following down the column under the Dv character tostate 5 (previously set) yields a blank cell which indicates notransition from the last state. Accordingly, the new character may notbe appended to the sequence comprised of the independent vowel (Iv) andso the user must input a new character at step 715. If the user does notinput a new character then the method ends at step 705.

If at step 745 the character type and replace feature 220 is turned on,the method follows the “yes” branch and proceeds to step 750. At step750 a determination is made as to whether there is a type and replaceaction on this state. In the present example, the user typed in adependent vowel after an independent vowel in the Hindi language. Asdiscussed above, referring to the state transition table in FIG. 5, theinput of the dependent vowel (Dv) after the independent vowel (Iv)yielded a blank cell which indicates there is no transition state fromthe previous state. That blank cell also indicates that there are noavailable type and replace actions for this character. In other words,the previously validated character (Iv) cannot be replaced with the newcharacter (Dv) to yield a valid sequence of one character beginning withthe dependent vowel because dependent vowels may not come first in avalid Hindi character sequence.

Say, for example, that the current sequence at step 750 is anindependent vowel followed by an accent (IvAc) in the Hindi language andthe new character typed by the user is a vowel sign (Vs). This examplewas fully discussed above. At step 750, a determination is made from thestate transition table in FIG. 5 that the type and replace action forthis character is “8il.” The method proceeds to step 755 where the typeand replace action is performed. As discussed above, the action “8il”directs the newly typed character to be inserted into the sequencebefore the first character on the right. In the present example, thevowel sign (Vs) is inserted before the accent (Ac) to yield the sequenceof an independent vowel followed by a vowel sign followed by an accent(IvVsAc).

The method then proceeds to step 760 and updates the transition state.In the present example, the transition state is updated to state 8 whichis the state of the three-character sequence (IvVsAc). The method thenproceeds to step 715 to determine whether there is a new character. Ifthere is no new character, the method ends at step 705. Referring toFIG. 5, it can be seen for the example sequence of (IvVsAc) that thenext state for this sequence (found in the column to the right of the“state column,” is zero (0). Accordingly, the sequence is a complete andvalid sequence. Therefore, if a new character is typed by the user atstep 720, that new character will begin a new sequence.

The sequence checking feature 215 is applied during the sequentialkeyboard entry of characters. If the user moves the cursor which changesthe sequence being validated, the sequence checking feature 215reconstructs the sequence context before restarting the validation withnewly entered characters. While typing a complex character sequence, theuser may leave the sequence by using Backspace, Delete, typing anon-selected language character, or by moving the cursor somewhere elsein the text to begin typing complex characters again. In this case, thesequence context reconstruction feature 225 will reconstruct the contextof the complex character in order to resynchronize the sequence checkingfeature 215 with the right state in the state transition table. If theuser opens a document which was typed without the sequence checkingfeature 215, the sequence context reconstruction feature 225 may have toundo what the user typed in order to reconstruct the sequence context ofa given sequence.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating the preferred steps forreconstructing the context (i.e., sequence of characters) of apreviously input sequence of characters. In general the context orcharacter sequence of a previously input sequence of characters isdetermined by placing the cursor of the user's computer program at somelocation to the right of a sequence of simple characters or complexcharacter and identifying the first complete complex character to theleft of the cursor. This is accomplished by identifying the simplecharacter that starts the complex character from the very last simplecharacter of the sequence (which is the character at the left of thecursor). The identification process goes from right to left startingwith the character at the left of the cursor and ending on the firstcharacter of the identified complex character or ending on an invalidcharacter after a specified number of character scans according to theselected language.

The method begins at step 800 and moves to step 810. At step 810 themaximum number “n” of characters which may comprise a complex characterin the selected language is established. For example, say the selectedlanguage is Hindi, and in Hindi the maximum number of simple characterswhich may comprise a Hindi complex character is five (5). The methodthen moves to step 820 where the cursor is placed at some location inthe text typed in the selected language.

In the present example, say the cursor is placed to the right of acomplex character typed in Hindi and comprised of an independent vowelfollowed by a vowel sign followed by an accent (IvVsAc). The method thenproceeds to step 825 where a determination is made whether the lastcharacter (Ac) is the beginning of a sequence which would yield a nextstate of zero (0). That is, if the next state after entry of thecharacter (Ac) is zero, then that character is a complete sequence andthe sequence context has been reconstructed which means the sequencechecking feature 215 may begin checking the next sequence input by theuser.

Because the last character did not yield a next state of zero, themethod follows the “no” branch and proceeds to step 830 where the methodmoves to the next character and then proceeds back to step 825. At step825, a determination is made whether the last two characters complete asequence which yields a next state of zero. In the present case the lasttwo characters (VsAc) do not yield a next state of zero. Accordingly,the method follows the “no” branch to step 830 and moves back to thethird character from the right before proceeding back to step 825.

At step 825, a determination is made as to whether the sequence of thethree characters (IvVsAc) complete a sequence which yields a next stateof zero. With reference to FIG. 5, it can be seen that this sequencedoes yield a next state of zero which means the sequence is a valid andcomplete sequence in accordance with the rules of the selected language.The method then proceeds to step 835 and finds the final state of thethree-character sequence or state 8 for the present example. This stateis used by the sequence checking feature 215 to determine where to startfrom in checking the next sequence of characters.

If the method goes back at step 830 until it reaches the maximum numberof characters that may comprise a complex character under the selectedlanguage without finding a complete and valid sequence, then thatsequence of characters includes one or more invalid characters. Thiswould be the case where the sequence was input with the sequencechecking feature turned off. In this case the user can simply delete thesequence and re-type the sequence.

As described herein, the present invention provides for a method andsystem for checking the validity of a sequence of input charactersaccording to the syntactical rules of a selected language. If an inputcharacter may not be appended to the previously input sequence accordingto the rules of the selected language, the newly input character may beprohibited from being appended to the sequence and displayed on theuser's computer. The present invention provides for editing ofpreviously input character sequences by determining the validity contextof sequences of characters previously input.

While this invention has been described in detail with particularreference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood thatvariations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scopeof the invention as described herein and as defined in the appendedclaims.

1-18. (canceled)
 19. A computer-readable medium on which is stored acomputer program for checking a sequence of input characters, thecomputer program comprising instructions, which when executed by acomputer, perform acts of: receiving a first character of the sequenceof input characters; receiving a second character of the sequence ofinput characters; and if the first character and the second characterform a valid sequence of characters according to rules associated withforming a complex character, displaying a complex character formed by acombination of the first and second characters prior to receivingadditional characters.
 20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, thecomputer program further comprising instructions, which when executed bya computer, perform acts of: if the first character and the secondcharacter do not form a valid sequence of characters according to rulesassociated with forming a complex character, not displaying a complexcharacter formed by a combination of the first and second charactersprior to receiving additional characters.
 21. The computer-readablemedium of claim 19, wherein determining if the first and secondcharacters form a valid sequence of characters according to rulesassociated with forming a complex character of the selected languagecomprises: in a state transition table, assigning a first state to thefirst character according to the rules associated with the selectedlanguage; assigning a second state to the second character according tothe rules associated with the selected language; determining whether thestate transition table includes a state transition from the first stateto the second state; if the state transition table includes a statetransition from the first state to the second state, determining thefirst and second characters form a valid sequence of charactersaccording to rules associated with forming a complex character of theselected language; and if the state transition table does not include astate transition from the first state to the second state, determiningthe first and second characters do not form a valid sequence ofcharacters according to rules associated with forming a complexcharacter of the selected language.
 22. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 21, the computer program further comprising instructions, whichwhen executed by a computer, perform acts of: determining whethercombining the first and second characters creates a complete sequence ofcharacters to form a complex character according to the rules associatedwith the selected language; if the sequence of characters is a completesequence of characters forming a complex character according to therules associated with the selected language, determining whether a thirdinput character begins a second valid sequence of characters for forminga complex character according to rules associated with the selectedlanguage; if the third character begins a second valid sequence ofcharacters for forming a complex character according to rules associatedwith the selected language, accepting the third character for display;and if the third character does not begin a second valid sequence ofcharacters for forming a complex character according to rules associatedwith the selected language, prohibiting accepting the third characterfor display.
 23. The computer-readable medium of claim 22, whereindetermining whether combining the first and second characters creates acomplete sequence of characters to form a complex character according tothe rules associated with the selected language comprises determiningwhether the second state points to a third transition state representinga reset transition action.
 24. The computer-readable medium of claim 19,the computer program further comprising instructions, which whenexecuted by a computer, perform acts of: determining whether the firstcharacter begins a valid sequence of characters for forming a complexcharacter according to the rules associated with the selected language;if the first character begins a valid sequence of characters for forminga complex character according to rules associated with the selectedlanguage, accepting the first character for display; if the firstcharacter does not begin a valid sequence of characters for forming acomplex character according to rules associated with the selectedlanguage, prohibiting accepting the first character for display; and ifthe first character is accepted for display, displaying the character toa user on a display screen prior to receiving any additional characters.25. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, the computer programfurther comprising instructions, which when executed by a computer,perform acts of: determining whether combining the first and secondcharacters creates a complete sequence of characters to form a complexcharacter according to the rules associated with the selected language;and if the sequence of characters is a complete sequence of charactersforming a complex character according to the rules associated with theselected language, prohibiting combining additional characters to thesequence of characters.
 26. The computer-readable medium of claim 19,wherein the rules comprise one or more rules for creating complexcharacters according to a selected language.
 27. The computer-readablemedium of claim 26, wherein the selected language is Thai.
 28. Acomputer-readable medium on which is stored a computer program forchecking a sequence of input characters, the computer program comprisinginstructions, which when executed by a computer, perform acts of:receiving a first character of the sequence of input characters;receiving a second character of the sequence of input characters; if thefirst character and the second character form a valid sequence ofcharacters according to rules associated with forming a complexcharacter, displaying a complex character formed by the first characterand the second character prior to receiving additional characters; andif the first character and the second character do not form a validsequence of characters according to rules associated with forming acomplex character, displaying the first character.
 29. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 28, the computer program furthercomprising instructions, which when executed by a computer, perform actsof: receiving a third character of the sequence of input characters; andif the first, second, and third characters do not form a valid sequenceof characters according to rules associated with forming a complexcharacter, displaying the complex character formed by the firstcharacter and second character.
 30. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 29, the computer program further comprising instructions, whichwhen executed by a computer, perform acts of: if the first, second, andthird characters do not form a valid sequence of characters according torules associated with forming a complex character, discarding the thirdcharacter.
 31. The computer-readable medium of claim 29, the computerprogram further comprising instructions, which when executed by acomputer, perform acts of displaying a complex character formed by acombination of the first, second, and third characters prior toreceiving additional characters if the first, second, and thirdcharacters form a valid sequence of characters according to rulesassociated with forming a complex character of the selected language.32. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein determining if thefirst and second characters form a valid sequence of charactersaccording to rules associated with forming a complex character of theselected language comprises: in a state transition table, assigning afirst state to the first character according to the rules associatedwith the selected language; assigning a second state to the secondcharacter according to the rules associated with the selected language;determining whether the state transition table includes a statetransition from the first state to the second state; if the statetransition table includes a state transition from the first state to thesecond state, determining the first and second characters form a validsequence of characters according to rules associated with forming acomplex character of the selected language; and if the state transitiontable does not include a state transition from the first state to thesecond state, determining the first and second characters do not form avalid sequence of characters according to rules associated with forminga complex character of the selected language.
 33. The computer-readablemedium of claim 28, the computer program further comprisinginstructions, which when executed by a computer, perform acts of:determining whether the first character begins a valid sequence ofcharacters for forming a complex character according to the rulesassociated with the selected language; if the first character begins avalid sequence of characters for forming a complex character accordingto rules associated with the selected language, accepting the firstcharacter for display; if the first character does not begin a validsequence of characters for forming a complex character according torules associated with the selected language, prohibiting accepting thefirst character for display; and if the first character is accepted fordisplay, displaying the character to a user on a display screen prior toreceiving any additional characters.
 34. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 28, wherein the rules comprise one or more rules for creatingcomplex characters according to a selected language.
 35. A method ofestablishing a sequence validation context of a sequence of charactersforming at least a portion of a complex character, comprising acts of:beginning with a last character of a sequence of characters, determiningwhether the last character is valid as a complete sequence of characterscomprising a complex character according to rules for forming a complexcharacter; if the last character of a sequence of characters is notvalid as a complete sequence of characters comprising a complexcharacter, then determining whether a combination of the last characterand a character input immediately to the left of the last character isvalid as a complete sequence of characters comprising a complexcharacter; if the combination is not valid as a complete sequence ofcharacters comprising the complex character, then creating subsequentcombinations of characters by adding one character at a time to the leftof the last subsequent combination and determining whether each newcombination after each added character is valid as a complete sequenceof characters comprising a complex character until a valid sequence ofcharacters is found for forming a complex character according to therules for forming a complex character; and when a valid sequence ofcharacters is found for forming a complex character according to therules for forming a complex character, returning a context for thecombination as the context for a complex character.
 36. The method ofclaim 35, the method further comprising: determining a maximum number ofcharacters that comprises a valid sequence of characters according tothe rules for forming a complex character; and wherein adding onecharacter at a time to the left of the last subsequent combination anddetermining whether each new combination after each added character isvalid as a complete sequence of characters comprising a complexcharacter occurs until the maximum number of characters that comprises avalid sequence have been combined or until a valid sequence ofcharacters is found for forming a complex character according to therules for forming a complex character.
 37. The method of claim 36,wherein determining whether each new combination after each addedcharacter is valid as a complete sequence of characters comprising acomplex character comprises determining in a state transition tablewhether each new combination after each added character points to atransition state representing a reset transition action.
 38. The methodof claim 35, wherein the rules comprise one or more rules for creatingcomplex characters according to a selected language.